Many common firearms are supplied ammunition via a box magazine. The magazine can be detached once the cartridges are expended and a new magazine can be inserted into the firearm providing more ammunition. It is advantageous for police officers, military personnel, competitive shooters, and other civilians engaged in shooting sports to have a readily available supply of ammunition. Typically spare magazines are carried on a user's clothing or belt. It can take extra time, however, to remove a magazine from its position on a belt or clothing. In order to increase the efficiency of switching magazines, several devices have been made that attach a spare magazine to a firearm.
In addition, it is common practice to link two magazines together and several devices have been made that couple or link two or more ammunition magazines together. Typically, when two magazines are coupled together, the first magazine is inserted into the firearm while the second is attached vertically to the first magazine by an apparatus. This reduces the time of a reload and makes a spare magazine very accessible. However, the coupling of two magazines, and the devices thereto, can result in several operational problems. First, the open end of the spare (second) magazine is left exposed to the elements. This can lead to debris getting into the magazine and causing a malfunction. Second, the first cartridge of the spare magazine has a tendency to slide forward while the first magazine is being fired or during transport. This results in the first cartridge protruding from the front of the spare magazine. The cartridge can then get caught on the magazine well during a reload and cause a malfunction.
There have been several unsuccessful attempts to address the aforementioned issues. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,442,962, entitled “Magazine Hanger,” a magazine hanger is described for carrying a spare magazine. According to the '962 patent, a magazine is inserted into the hanger and the hanger is then attached to an object via two loops on top of the hanger. If the hanger were to be used on a coupled magazine it would remain attached to the firearm even after the magazine was removed. This has the possibility to interfere with weapons manipulation by obstructing important firearm features such as, but not limited to, a bolt catch. The hanger also relies on a pendulum that fits under a magazine feed lip. This has the effect of compressing the cartridges in a magazine and would require one or more cartridges to be removed from the magazine to make the hanger work. In addition, in order to release the magazine a latch must be disengaged by finger pressure to a tab on the hanger, thus adding time to the reload process of the firearm.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,484,404, entitled “Spare Magazine Holder,” a protective carrier for a spare magazine is described. The '404 patent describes a covering that is attached to the left side of a fire arm. A loaded spare magazine is inserted into the cover and it is held in place by a latch mechanism. When the magazine release button is pushed, the latch mechanism is activated and the empty magazine will drop from the firearm. The spare magazine will drop from the cover at the same time, which prohibits the user from selectively ejecting a certain magazine for clearing a malfunction. The cover also obstructs the use of a bolt catch on certain types of rifles and other firearms. This means the user will have to use the charging handle to chamber a cartridge once the reload is completed, which takes more time than simply striking the bolt catch to chamber a cartridge. In addition, the cover described in the '404 patent would be expensive to the user due to material and manufacturing costs.
In U.S. Pat. No. 7,562,482, entitled “Spare Magazine Cover with Independent Latch Mechanism,” a cover is described for carrying a spare ammunition magazine. The cover is attached to the left side of a firearm. The spare magazine is inserted into the cover and held in place by an independent latch mechanism. The magazine can be released by applying pressure to a lever on the carrier. However, the design and configuration of the cover described in the '482 patent requires additional time during a reload and would be expensive to the user due to material and manufacturing costs.
In U.S. Pat. No. 7,497,043, entitled “Magazine Doubler,” a magazine doubling device is described that contains a body holding two magazines. The device includes an attached blocking element that goes in the magazine not in use. It is placed on the top of the loaded cartridges in the place of the top cartridge. However, this reduces magazine capacity and the blocking element must be manually removed before inserting the magazine into a firearm. In addition, the blocking element will remain attached via a rubber band allowing it to swing freely and interfere with weapons manipulations.
Accordingly, a need exists for a device that can allow for the efficient and effective use of linked or coupled ammunitions magazines with firearms without the aforementioned drawbacks and problems.